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Donald Finkel
Donald Alexander Finkel (October 21, 1929 - November 15, 2008) was an American poet best known for his unorthodox styles and "curious juxtapositions". Life Finkel was born in New York City on October 21, 1929. He grew up in the Bronx, and aspired to be a sculptor as a youth. He attended the University of Chicago, only to be expelled for smoking marijuana. Finkel attended Columbia University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in philosophy in 1952. He earned a master's degree in English from Columbia in 1953.Fox, Margalit. "Donald Finkel, 79, Poet of Free-Ranging Styles, Is Dead", The New York Times, November 20, 2008. Accessed November 22, 2008. He taught at the Iowa Writers' Workshop at the University of Iowa and at Bard College in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York, prior to accepting a faculty position at Washington University in St. Louis in 1960. He taught at Washington University until 1991, and was poet-in-residence emeritus there until his death. Mr. Finkel’s wife, Constance Urdang, a novelist and poet, died in 1996. Before his death, Finkel returned to sculpture, creating pieces from buttons, bottles and other found objects, in a process he called "dreckolage". He died at age 79 on November 15, 2008 at his home in St. Louis, Missouri of complications of Alzheimer's disease. He was survived by his son, Tom; 2 daughters, Liza and Amy Finkel; and 2 grandchildren. Writing De Witt Bell, in a 1964 review, called Finkel's work Simeon, "a book of great élan, robust in world view and vigorous in style. Both the poet and the poems seems to be enjoying themselves."Bell, De Witt. "Poems Enjoying Themselves; SIMEON. By Donald Finkel. 100 pp. New York: Atheneum. Cloth, $3.95. Paper. $1.95. THE WINDOW. By Vern Rutsala, 80 pp. Middletown: Wesleyan University Press. Cloth, $4. Paper, $1.85. COUNTRY WITHOUT MAPS. By Jean Garrigue. 82 pp. New York: The Macmillan Company. $3.95.", The New York Times, December 20, 1964. Accessed November 23, 2008. Finkel's wrote his poetry in free verse, juxtaposing different subjects against each other. Some of his poetry was extremely lengthy, with single pieces filling a volume. Finkel strayed from abstraction and used common language in his writing. He would interlace his poetry with sections taken from a wide range of works, including the writings of authors including Lenny Bruce, Admiral Richard Evelyn Byrd, Albert Camus and Franz Kafka to create what The New York Times described as a "multilayered, sculptural bricolage through which Mr. Finkel expanded the reader's sense of what was possible in the genre." Some of Finkel's best-known poems include his 1968 work Answer Back about Mammoth Cave, Adequate Earth a 1972 book of poems about Antarctica, and his 1987 work The Wake of the Electron which was inspired by the story of sailor Donald Crowhurst, who died in 1969 while competing in the Sunday Times Golden Globe Race. The 14 books of poetry and other works he published include Simeon (1964), A Joyful Noise (1966), The Garbage Wars (1970), A Mote in Heaven’s Eye (1975), Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll (1978), Going Under (1978), What Manner of Beast (1981) and Not So the Chairs: Selected and new poems (2003). He translated A Splintered Mirror: Chinese poetry from the democracy movement (1991) with Carolyn Kizer. Publications Poetry *''The Clothing’s New Emperor'' (edited by John Hall Wheelock). New York: Scribner, 1959. *''Simeon''. New York: Atheneum, 1964. *''A Joyful Noise''. New York: Atheneum, 1966. *''Answer Back''. New York: Atheneum, 1968. *''The Garbage Wars''. New York: Atheneum, 1970. *''Adequate Earth''. New York: Atheneum, 1972. *''A Mote in Heaven’s Eye''. New York: Atheneum, 1975. *''Endurance: An Antarctic Idyll and Going Under''. New York: Atheneum, 1978. *''What Manner of Beast''. New York: Atheneum, 1981. *''The Detachable Man''. New York: Atheneum, 1984. *''Reading Ourselves to Sleep'' (with others). Pterodactyl Press, 1985. *''Selected Shorter Poems''. New York: Atheneum, 1987. *''The Wake of the Electron''. New York: Atheneum, 1987. *''Beyond Despair''. St. Louis: Garlic Press, 1994. *''A Question of Seeing: Poems''. Fayetteville, AR: University of Arkansas Press, 1998. *''Not So the Chairs: New and selected poems''. Minneapolis, MN: Mid-List Press, 2003. Translated * A Splintered Mirror: Chinese poetry from the democracy movement. San Francisco, CA: North Point Press, 1991. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy the Poetry Foundation.Donald Finkel 1929-2008, Poetry Foundation, Web, Sep. 15, 2012. Plays *The Jar (play), produced in Boston, 1961. See also * List of U.S. poets References Notes External links ;Poems * "Hunting Song" *2 poems with audio: "Backing Up," "Erratum" * Donald Finkel 1929-2008 at the Poetry Foundation ;Audio / video *Donald Finkel at YouTube ;Books *Donald finkel at Amazon.com ;About *Donald Finkel at World Literature Collection * "Donald Finkel, 79, Poet of Free-Ranging Styles, is Dead," New York Times ;Etc. *The Donald Finkel Papers at Washington University in St. Louis Category:American poets Category:Bard College faculty Category:Columbia University alumni Category:People from the Bronx Category:University of Chicago alumni Category:Washington University in St. Louis faculty Category:Deaths from Alzheimer's disease Category:1929 births Category:2008 deaths Category:20th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:Modernist poets Category:Poets